Rob Zombie has tapped Malcolm McDowell (more info from IMDb) to take on the role of Dr. Loomis in Zombie‘s upcoming remake of the John Carpenter classic “Halloween”. This will NOT be a sequel, and it will be a complete “re-imagining” of the movie, similar to Zack Snyder‘s “Dawn of the Dead”. (“Halloween” was a 1978 film in which a patient in a mental hospital, Michael Myers, escapes the asylum and goes on a killing spree. He was pursued by Dr. Loomis, who was brilliantly portrayed in the original film by the late Donald Pleasance.)

Commented Zombie: “As many of you know, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is my favorite film and I am a huge, huge fan of Malcolm. I know Malcolm will kick ass as Dr. Loomis. He is thrilled to be part of ‘Halloween’ and is ready to make a new classic.

Rob Zombie will not only serve as director of the new “Halloween”, but he is also a producer and music supervisor. “Halloween” will be Zombie‘s third gig as director, after “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects”. Andy Gould is one of the co-producers; Gould has worked with Zombie on his two previous movies. The new “Halloween” is slated for release in October 2007.

Zombie says that this will be a “new take” on the “Halloween” franchise, and he hopes that it will oblige fans of the original while offering something fresh to movie-goers. The film is planned to be both a prequel and a remake of the original. The story is set before the events of 1981’s “Halloween 2”, and will focus on Myer‘s youth (before he was institutionalized) and how he develops into a serial killer.

Rob Zombie had this to say about John Carpenter in an interview with Variety: “The original ‘Halloween’ is hallowed ground to me, and I talked to [Carpenter] about it and he was very supportive of what I wanted to do. He said, ‘Go for it, Rob. Make it your own.’ And that’s exactly what I intend to do. Over 25 years and a lot of movies, a very scary character became something of a Halloween cliché, with Michael Myers dolls that play the Halloween music when you press their stomachs. By the end of the sequel cycle, there was little connection to the original. I take that film very seriously, and I want to make it terrifying again.”